At top and below, Salem Volunteer Fire Department personnel and county investigators sift through the rubble left by a massive explosion at a Route 29 home in Salem, killing six people. (ERICA MILLER, emiller@saratogian.com)

FORT EDWARD -- A man accused of negligently killing six people in 2011 after a dispute with his landlord pleaded guilty to his role in the explosion Thursday, but did not admit guilt in the case.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin C. Kortright said he was satisfied with the outcome because while he said prosecutors had circumstantial evidence, they also had "proof issues.

"The scene was totally leveled. It looked like a war zone. There was not one cinder block left above ground," Kortright said. "All of the proof is gone. All of the witnesses are gone. Most of the people who would have testified are dead."

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In the end, he said "That's the best we could get," and added he considered the case a success because McComsey would be spending time in prison.

By agreeing to an Alford Plea, McComsey accepts that prosecutors have a strong enough case to convict him, but he is not required to admit he is guilty of the crime. It is similar to pleading "no contest."

Criminally-negligent homicide, Kortright said, is an appropriate charge for the case.

Prosecutors say McComsey was in a dispute with his landlords, Lynda and David Baldwin, and was being evicted from the rental home at 4383 Route 29 in Salem. Kortright said McComsey had paid for propane to heat the house and "claimed he should be able to take the gas with him."

When the dispute escalated, McComsey allegedly let the gas out of the tank so his landlord could not have it either. It filled the basement of the house and, at about noon on a bright summer day, July 13, a spark from a water heater ignited the gas while 11 people were in or around the house, including McComsey.

The blast killed three people immediately. Three more died in the days and weeks following the explosion, which leveled the house to its foundation and sent debris hundreds of feet in every direction.

McComsey rejected a plea offer in October of one to three years in prison if he pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. His public defender did not return calls for comment as to what changed.

For some, though, the substantial reduction in charges is an indication that the case against McComsey was weak.

Kevin Luibrand is an attorney representing Chelsey and Daniel Wilcox who were both visiting the home and were injured in the blast.

"There are six people dead and at least two people seriously injured," he said. "To see an Alford plea with one to three years when he faced up to life tells me everyone in the courtroom, from the judge to the defense and prosecutors to Steve McComesy himself believes that he didn't do anything wrong."

"One to three years is what you get in a bar fight," Luibrand said. He said neither he nor his clients believe McComsey is responsible for the blast. "We think there is someone responsible, but it's not him."

Luibrand said he would not comment on who he or his clients think is responsible for the blast, nor would he confirm whether they would be pursuing a lawsuit. He said the statute of limitations allows his clients three years to file a negligence lawsuit.

Another attorney is representing several of the families of the deceased, but she did not return calls for comment.